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Toothbrush sales to fund oral health drive

It's frustrating to know that the most common disease in the world is preventable.

It's not TB or HIV but dental caries, familiar to all dental professionals in this country, but thankfully not as prevalent as it is in the third world.

Oral-B is running a campaign in October and November that they predict will allow half a million life-changing treatments to be carried out in Bangladesh.

They've combined forces with Dentaid and are launching their ‘Campaign for World Wide Smiles', a programme that will fund the installation of new dental surgeries in the region with fully trained staff.

More importantly, the money will allow Dentaid to implement an on-going oral health education programme in the region in order to leave a lasting legacy.

Oral-B plan to do this by making a donation for every CrossAction and Complete Clean toothbrush sold both in retail outlets and those sold to dental practices (from dental dealers) throughout this period.

Commenting on the campaign, Razi Hyder, who heads up the professional team in the UK, says: 'This is an opportunity for us as an organisation to make a lasting difference. The sales of our leading manual toothbrush during this period will help fund Dentaid's vital work in disadvantaged communities.

'In Bangladesh over 60% of the population live in poverty, 93% have gingivitis, 85% have periodontitis and unsurprisingly, 46% of the population have rampant caries.

'We are confident that the public will get behind this fundraising challenge and, alongside our advertising and PR campaign, we will raise awareness of this preventable disease and support a variety of interventions including treatments, surgeries, portable treatment kits as well as training and education at grass roots.'